Satin

How to spell satin

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce satin

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does satin mean?

1. nounA smooth, glossy fabric, typically of silk or a synthetic substitute, with a lustrous surface on one side.

Satin in a sentence

• The bridesmaids wore long dresses of pale blue satin.

• She lined the jewellery box with cream satin to protect the rings.

Where does satin come from?

Language of origin: Arabic

Satin entered English in the late 1300s from Old French satin, the name for a glossy, tightly woven silk cloth. The French word traces back through medieval trade routes to an Arabic form, zaytuni, meaning 'of Zaitun', the Arabic name for a major Chinese port (now generally identified with Quanzhou) from which the fabric was exported. So the word literally records the place the cloth came from rather than describing the cloth itself. Over time the meaning broadened from the silk weave to any smooth, lustrous fabric or finish, and we now speak of satin paint and satin skin as well as satin dresses. The short, simple spelling hides an exotic geography: a single English word carrying an Arabic rendering of a Chinese city.

How the word is built

• satin (from Old French satin, ultimately from the Arabic name for the Chinese port Zaitun)